STEPHEN  Bo  WEEKS 

cuss  0F1886;PH.D.  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 


OF  THE 


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OF 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00039136737 


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ADDRESS 


OF 


Hon.  J.  A.  Engelhard, 


BEFORE    THE 


Philanthropic  and  Dialectic  Societies 


OF    THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA, 
JUNE,  1878. 


RALEIGH,   N.   C.  : 

Edwards,  Broughton  &  Co.,  Printers  and  Binders. 

February,   1879. 


ADDRESS. 


Young  Gentlemen  of  the  Philanthropic  and  Dialectic  Societies  : 

When  the  storm-beaten  mariner,  suspended  for  long  and 
anxious  hours  in  darkness  and  tumult,  between  hope  and 
despair,  at  length  beholds  the  Light-house  rising  above  the 
waters  and  through  the  tempest— the  beacon  of  his  safety — 
his  heart  must  beat  as  mine  does  now,  when  standing  here 
by  its  very  corner-stones  and  amid  its  hallowed  alters,  I  see 
the  light  of  this  great  University,  obscured  by  dark  and 
dreary  shadows  for  many  years,  now  again  emerging  like  a 
Sun  from  the  clouds,  and  spreading  its  benignant  rays  far 
and  wide  over  the  land.  An  emotion  higher  and  better  still 
is  excited  in  my  heart ;  it  is  the  emotion  which  we  imagine 
a  son  must  feel  when,  after  long  years  of  doubt  and  fear 
that  the  devoted  motiier  of  his  life  and  love  has  been  lost, 
he  again  embraces  her  to  his  bosom  and  realizes  that  she  is 
restored  and  truly  lives  in  her  beauty  and  happiness.  The 
tribes  of  Israel  did  not  feel  so  high  a  sentiment  of  joy  when 
they  had  passed  the  perils  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  believed 
that  their  deliverance  was  at  hand.  They  knew  the  miracle 
was  not  their  work ;  its  beneficence  and  sublimity  was  all 
from  God.  Their  sufferings  might  have  invoked  it;  their 
virtues  certainly  had  not  aspired  to  or  deserved  it.  The 
wisdom  of  the  Almighty  had  not  selected  their  excellence  as 
the  means  of  securing  their  happiness.  I  hope  it  will  not 
be  thought  inconsiderate  for  me  to  declare,  with  devout 
thankfulness  to  Him  who  holds  all  things  in  the  hollow  of 
His  hand,  that  it  is  through  those  virtues  which  have  emar 
nated  from  that  Supreme  Fountain  of  all  good,  and  that  have 
been  cultivated  apd  cherished  by  our  Forefathers  for  agQ 


(4) 

after  age,  that  we  are  able  this  day  to  again  assemble  on  this 
devoted  spot,  and  witness  the  regeneration  of  this  grand, 
this  noble  institution  of  learning. 

Even  when  the  clouds  of  adversity  lowered  most  threat- 
eningly, and  nothing  was  left  of  this  proud  and  illustrious 
University,  except  the  denuded  walls  and  tenantless  build- 
ings, and  the  Sun  of  her  usefulness  seemed  about  to  set  for- 
ever in  endless  night,  just  when  her  life-giving  rays  were 
most  needed,  her  children  clung  to  her  with  redoubled  af- 
fection. Appreciating  the  check  she  had  received,  and  the 
loss  she  had  sustained,  and  recognizing  the  herculean  task 
necessary  for  her  restoration,  they  yet  felt  that  all  was  Jiot 
lost.  The  despoiler  had  indeed  driven  professor  and  stu- 
dent away.  Her  buildings  and  halls  and  libraries,  the  por- 
traits of  her  eminent  benefactors  and  distinguished  pupils, 
and  the  numerous  tokens  of  fond  remembrance  which  had 
been  garnered  for  generations,  had  been  abandoned  and 
given  up  to  destruction.  Her  beloved  sons  knew  that  the 
purest  wealth  of  their  Alma  Mater  was  not  material  but 
moral.  They  knew  the  glorious  past  was  hers.  All  the 
sacred  associations — all  the  good  she  had  done  to  the  gene- 
rations that  were  gone — the  glory  of  her  noble  sons  who 
had  enriched  her  history  with  trophies  won  on  every  field 
of  fame — these,  which  constitute  the  true  wealth  of  a  litera- 
ry institution,  they  knew  were  indestructible  and  would 
endure  forever.  And  they  felt  as  long  as  the  memories  of 
the  past  survived  in  human  bosoms,  her  destinies  were  safe. 
When  that  wise  and  valiant  Statesman,  William,  Prince  of 
Orange,  saw  his  native  Holland  girdled  by  the  legions  of 
the  unscrupulous  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  and  felt  that  the 
hour  had  come  at  last  when  France,  more  unrelenting  than 
the  ocean,  from  whose  Empire  his  ancestors  had  rescued  his 
beloved  domain,  was  about  to  overwhelm  his  country,  he  at 
one  moment  meditated  the  chivalric  design  of  embarking 
in  his  ships  all  his  people  and  his  portable  wealth,  and, 
leaving  the  delightful  homes  of  the  thriftiest  people  in  Eu- 


(5) 

tope,  the  ashes  of  his  fathers,  and  the  temples  of  his  God, 
of  founding  a  new  Holland  in  the  Indian  Archipelago.  He 
knew  that  the  moral  glor}'  of  a  State  could  not  be  extin- 
guished by  the  swarms  of  an  invading  host;  and  that  under 
a  Southern  sun,  and  amid  the  billows  of  a  distant  sea,  he 
could  rebuild  on  lasting  foundations  a  greater  common- 
wealth than  the  one  he  was  about  to  lose,  and  yet  substan- 
tially the  same.  The  crisis  passed  and  Holland  was  saved. 
The  heroic  spirit  of  William  in  this  crisis  has  been  emula- 
ted by  our  people,  and  our  University  has  been  re-organized, 
and  in  all  its  strength  and  beauty  it  has  begun  anew  the 
heaven-ordained  work  to  which  it  is  devoted.  To  have  per- 
mitted it  to  have  gone  to  decay  would  have  been  a  three-fold 
sacrilege — a  sacrilege  against  Letters,  against  Patriotism, 
against  Religion,  It  would  have  been  to  blast  in  a  single 
breath  the  associations  of  a  century. 

For  this  re-organization,  it  is  fitting  that  we  should  ex- 
press our  grateful  obligations  to  the  distinguished  chief  and 
his  learned  associates  who  preside  with  such  character  over 
the  University;  to  the  disinterested  and  honorable  Trustees 
so  considerate  of  its  welfare :  to  the  ever  to  be  remembered 
Legislature  so  dutiful  to  its  interests.  But  over  and  above 
all  of  these,  it  is  right  and  true  that  we  should  recognize, 
that  under  a  wise  and  benignant  Providence,  the  grand  fact 
in  our  history,  that  we  again  have  a  University  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word,  is  due  to  the  intelligence,  the 
virtue,  the  patriotism  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina — these 
great  qualities,  superior  to  all  our  vicissitudes,  to-day  assert 
their  pre-eminence  with  us  in  the  assured  establishment  of 
OUR  LTniversity. 

My  Young  Friends,  it  is  not  this  sacred  ground,  nor  these 
classic  shades,  nor  these  venerated  walls;  it  is  not  the 
brick,  nor  the  stone,  nor  the  foundations,  nor  the  propor- 
tions, nor  the  domes,  nor  the  orders  of  architecture  of  these 
beautiful  temples — nor  anything  that  is  material,  that  have 
preserved,  amid  extreme  calamities,  this  beloved  and  glo- 


(6) 

rious  Institution.  These  indeed  are  all  perishable.  But  it 
is — it  is  the  Virtue  of  our  people— their  love  of  Knowledge  \ 
their  devotion  to  Truth  ;  their  spirit  of  Liberty  ;  their  respect 
for  law ;.  their  affection  for  Justice ;  their  reverence  for 
Religion  ;  their  courage  and  reso-lution  and  faith  \o  main- 
tain unimpaired  the  priceless  inheritance  of  enlightened 
Christian  Society  and  Civilization  that  have  preserved  and 
are  destined  to  perpetuate  in  its  purity  and  ever  expanding 
usefulness  this  University  as  the  crown  of  our  State's  char- 
acter. 

These  thoughts  in  relation  to  the  University  siraply  an- 
ticipate the  general  subject  which  I  propose  this  morning 
to  present  to  your  consideration.  That  subject  is,  "  The 
Duty  of  the  Young  Men  of  the  South  at  the  present 

TIME.  " 

I  say  the  duty  of  the  young  men,  for  it  is  upon  them  that 
the  future  of  the  Southern  people  depends.  No  people, 
however  old  or  however  depressed,  oughf  ever  to  despair,  for 
I  lay  it  down  as  a  rule,  established  by  all  history,  that  no 
people  can  be  lost  or  degraded  but  by  their  failure  to  do 
their  duty.  If  this  principle  is  true  of  aged,  decrepid  or 
corrupt  peoples,  how  much  more  undeniably  may  it  be  said 
that  a  young,  vigorous,  uncorrupted  people  have  their  des- 
tiny in  their  own  hands.  It  has  then  occurred  to  me  to 
employ  the  time  in  which  I  appear  before  you  in  consider- 
ing the  best  means  of  securing  the  dearest  objects  upon 
earth — the  Liberty,  the  Happiness  and  the  Honor  of  our 
people.  If  anything  was  wanting  to  inspire  us  with  hope 
and  confidence  in  ourselves,  the  history  of  the  last  few  years 
furnishes  ample  grounds  for  renewed  faith.  We  have  be- 
held the  people  of  tl>e  South,  after  a  long  and  exhausting 
war,  denuded  of  all  property,  in  a  feeble  minority,  encom- 
passed by  every  adverse  circumstance,  emerging  from  all 
the  surrounding  difficulties  of  their  situation,  and  again 
re-establishing  themselves  before  the  country  and  the  world. 
No  parallel  to  this  triumph  can  be  found  in  human  history. 


It  is,  alone  by  itself,  at  once  the  greatest  and  grandest  of 
human  achievements.  Our  ancestors  deserve  immortal 
honor  for  achieving  their  independence  a  hundred  years 
ago.  But  these  great  Forefathers  had  nothing  to  contend 
against  in  comparison  with  our  embarrassments.  Overcome 
in  war  by  superior  numbers  and  superior  resources ;  with 
all  the  world  drawn  on  for  reinforcements ;  and  then  with 
adverse  legislation  against  us  for  ten  dreary  years;  crippled 
by  disabilities;  the  law-making  power  taken  from  us;  our 
local  government  transferred  to  strangers  and  enemies ;  our 
former  slaves  placed  in  political  power  over  us;  the  lights 
of  Education  all  extinguished  ;  Commerce  paralyzed  ;  Agri- 
<!ulture  under  an  eclipse;  every  interest  depressed  and 
€very  right  in  jeopardy ;  and  notwithstanding  all  this,  what 
do  we  this  day  behold?  The  South  regenerated  and  disen- 
thralled, the  jnistress  of  her  own  destiny,  and  doubtless  yet 
to  exert  great  influence  on  the  destiny  of  the  world. 

This  is  th'e  work  of  the  South.  If  histor}'  shall  say  that 
the  South  imprudently  rushed  on  a  rash  fate  and  thereby 
underwent  unheard  of  disaster  and  suffering,  the  same  his- 
tory will  declare  that  she  alone,  against  every  adversity, 
recovered  from  her  calamities  and  worked  out  her  own  de- 
liverance. The  South  redeemed  herself,  and  what  she  lost 
by  rashness  and  courage,  she  has  regained  by  fortitude  and 
wisdom.  Of  all  the  blessings  vouchsafed  to  man,  nothing 
can  equal  that  of  a  country  of  good  laws  and  good  name. 
Without  it  all  other  blessings  are  literally  shadows.  Under 
a  bad  government,  representing  a  bad  people,  no  virtue 
flourishes.  The  light  from  Heaven — the  sweet  rains — do 
not  more  directly  affect  all  material  life  than  the  govern- 
ment affects  all  the  qualities  of  the  people  under  it.  A  good 
people  make  a  good  government — a  good  government  almost 
invariably  makes  a  good  people.  But  mere  forms  of  gov- 
ernment, and  volumes  of  statutes,  however  good.,  are  noth- 
ing— aye,  worse,  are  dangerous,  if  the  spirit  and  substance 
of  Right  and  Justice  and  Libert^''  are  wanting.     Never  was 


(8) 

the  form  of  the  Roman  Government  so  good  as  when  Scylla 
and  Csesar  openly  trampled  upon  the  liberties  of  the  Roman 
people.  When  offices,  honors,  powers,  rights,  were  all  pub- 
licly bartered  and  sold  in  the  streets  of  Rome,  like  chattels, 
there  were  more  conservative  statutes  upon  the  Law  Tables 
of  the  Senate  than  at  any  former  or  later  period  of  Roman 
history. 

As  proud  as  we  aire  and  ought  to  be  of  our  own  people — 
tested  in  the  crucible  of  suffering  and  misfortune — there  is 
nothing  in  our  past  history  to  rebuke  this  just  feeling.  I 
shall  not  disparage  the  early  settlers  of  any  portion  of  our 
country,  for  all  of  them  were  good  men, inspired  by  high  pur- 
poses, but  the  founders  of  the  South  were  men  of  a  very  high 
type.  They  were  not  fugitives,  nor  exiles,  nor  outcasts,  nor 
criminals.  They  were  men  who  bad  inherited  from  English 
ancestors  the  habits  and  sentiments  of  hundrds  of  years  of 
the  best  civilization  then  in  the  world.  They  were  men 
thoroughly  instructed  in  the  laws  of  their  country  and  un- 
derstood  the  philosophies  of  Society  and  Government. 
They  brought  with  them  the  institutions  of  England,  then 
the  purest  and  most  enlightened  nation  of  the  earth.  The 
germ  of  popular  liberty  which  had  been  slowly  taking  root 
in  Great  Brittain  for  jBve  hundred  years,  was  suddenly 
aroused  in  their  hearts  by  the  grand  scenes  of  a  New  World, 
at  the  sight  of  an  unsettled  Continent,  and  the  impressions 
of  an  unmolested  Ocean.  Everything  in  nature  suggested 
to  them  the  idea  of  Freedom.  Fortunately  they  brought 
wit})  them  to  Virginia,  the  Carolinas  and  the  South,  no 
prejudices,  no  hates,  no  warped  passions.  Popular  govern- 
ment was  the  natural  result,  under  new  circumstances,  of 
those  great  principles  of  law  which  had  prevailed  in  Eng- 
land and  grown  up  as  her  system,  vindicated  and  established 
oftentimes  by  Revolution.  They  also  brought  with  thera 
the  morals,  the  habits,  and  the  laws  of  the  Mother  Country. 
Their  settlement  was  the  enterprise  of  the  English  people, 
with  all  their  institutions  of  Liberty,  Law  and  Society.   Tax- 


(9) 

ation  and  representation,  with  education  for  the  people,  and 
order  in  all  things,  transplanted  in  the  New  World  to  grow, 
expand  and  develope,  without  the  fetters  and  confinements 
of  ancient  prejudice  and  forms,  but  favored  by  every  cir- 
cumstance, necessity  and  association. 

From  such  a  people,  practical  systems  of  popular  govern- 
ment sprung  at  once  into  being.  They  were  the  results  of 
causes  existing  and  operating  for  centuries.  It  was,  indeed, 
fortunate  that  our  Forefathers  brought  with  them  no  preju- 
dices, social,  religious  or  political.  Tliey  had  no  revenges 
to  gratify.  Their  judgments  were  dominated  by  no  memo- 
ries of  injury,  by  no  hopes  of  retaliation.  Persecution  had 
not  embittered  their  hearts. 

No  such  opportunities  ever  contributed  to  the  formation 
of  a  fair  minded,  high-souled,  just  people.  The  difficulties 
of  the  early  settlement  of  a  new  country  were  sufficiently 
great  to  call  out  energy,  courage,  perseverance  and  all  the 
hardier  virtues.  A  genial  climate,  fertile  soil,  and  other 
physical  advantages,  added  to  the  ample  means  they  brought 
from  the  Mother  Country,  gave  them  opportunities  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  finer  arts  of  social  life,  and  leisure  for  the 
study  of  political  science. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  influence  of  these  causes  upon  our 
people,  I  now  only  refer  you  to  the  history  of  the  Indians 
in  the  South  in  our  early  daj's.  Let  it  be  remembered  to 
the  honor  of  our  people  that,  speaking  by  comparison,  we 
had  no  trouble  with  the  Savages.  The  just  policy  of  our 
ancestors  settled  this  question  almost  without  bloodshed. 
Justice  to  the  Savages,  united  with  courage  on  the  part  of 
the  Whites,  determined  this  controversy  between  the  races, 
I  regret  to  say  that  very  different  causes  led  to  very  differ- 
ent results  among  the  Northern  colonies.  Avarice,  cupid- 
ity, violation  of  faith,  reckless  disregard  of  the  habits,  the 
feelings,  the  prejudices  of  the  Red  Man,  led  to  wars,  char- 
acterized by  cruelty  and  vacillation,  the  horrible  echoes  of 
which  yet  fill   our   Western   plains   with   lamentations  of 


(10) 

anxiety  and  distress.  An  unjust  cause  sown  by  one  gener- 
ation lives  long  after  the  generation  has  perished. 

It  was  owing  to  causes  like  these  I  have  mentioned — the 
character  of  the  earlier  settlers  themselves — their  freedom 
from  prejudices — their  opportunities  for  improvement — 
the  enjoyment  of  a  genial  climate — a  fruitful  country-- and 
the  influences  of  liberal  education — that  we  find  the  South- 
ern men  in  the  early  days  of  the  American  Revolution 
taking  a  decided  and  distinguished  part  in  that  great 
drama.  It  can  be  said  to  their  honor  that  their  action 
most  generally  wore  the  forms  of  order,  although  beginning 
a  Revolution.  Perhaps  in  all  its  history  no  people  have 
ever  been  so  free  from  mob  violence  in  all  of  its  phases  as 
the  Southern  people.  And  this  is  because  no  people  have 
ever  so  thoroughly  comprehended  and  practiced  the  princi- 
ples of  political  and  social  order.  That  in  all  their  great 
movements  they  have  been  so  unanimous  arises  from  the 
consideration  that  their  actions  have  come  from  the  convic- 
tions of  the  people,  and  these  convictions  have  been  founded 
on  their  intelligence  of  the  subject  that  interested  them. 
It  was  said  of  Csesar's  soldiers  that  each  one  of  them  so 
well  understood  his  duty  that  he  needed  no  orders  in  battle. 
It  may,  with  equal  truth,  be  declared  of  the  Southern  peo- 
ple that  they  have  so  thoroughly  comprehended  all  public 
subjects  before  them  that  each  had  his  opinion,  and  that 
opinion  was  a  conviction.  Their  revolution  in  1776  was 
almost  unanimous.  Their  differences  upon  public  questions 
up  to  1861  were  upon  matters  of  detail  and  things  tempo- 
rary. Their  union  in  1861  was  as  decided,  but  not  more  so, 
than  in  1776.  The  charge  that  the  great  mass  of  the 
Southern  people  have  ever  been  controlled  by  a  few  leaders 
is  the  greatest  of  all  errors.  It  may  M'ith  more  truth  be  de- 
clared that  their  unanimity  has  always  proceeded  from  gen- 
eral conviction,  and  has  been  superior  to  the  rival  and  con- 
trary views  of  opposing  leaders. 

We  have  indeed  cause  to  be  proud  of  our  Southern  Fore- 


(11) 

fathers.  In  American  history  no  brighter  names  appear 
than  those  of  Henry,  Jefferson,  Caswell,  Lowndes,  and  a 
thousand  others.  What  higher  tribute  could  have  been 
borne  to  Southern  character  than  John  Adams  rendered 
when  he  nominated  George  Washington  for  the  leader  of 
the  American  army  to  fight  for  its  independence?  What 
better  testimony  could  be  furnished  for  Southern  genius 
and  statesmanship  than  that  Thomas  Jefferson  was  selected 
to  write  the  Declaration  of  Independence?  What  better 
proof  could  be  given  of  the  justice  and  wisdom  of  these 
opinions  than  that  Washington  has  become  the  greatest 
name  upon  earth,  and  that  the  words  of  Jefferson  are  now 
the  vital  fires  of  popular  rights  all  over  the  world  ?  If  there 
is  honor  in  the  history  of  National  Jurisprudence,  it  will  be 
found  in  the  names  of  Marshall  and  Iredell.  If  that  honor 
has  been  continued  it  will  be  seen  in  Taney,  whose  great 
image  has  been  placed,  even  by  his  enemies,  in  the  Supreme 
Court  Room  of  the  United  States.  From  the  beginning  of 
our  history  as  a  people,  the  South  has  borne  her  part  in  all 
of  it.  When  you  reflect  that  of  the  first  seven  Presidents, 
five  were  Southern  men  ;  when  you  remember  that  Jackson 
in  the  South,  and  Scott  in  the  North,  in  1815,  led  our  armies 
to  victory ;  when  j'ou  know  that  Taylor  and  Scott  w^ere  the 
heroes  of  Mexico;  when  you  read  that  Clay  and  Calhoun, 
Benton  and  Badger  shed  a  lustre  on  the  Senate,  the  purest 
and  noblest  that  has  ever  been  shed  upon  that  Chamber; 
that  Maury  laid  bare  the  dangerous  secrets  of  the  ocean  and 
the  winds,  j'ou  will  never  blush  for  the  South. 

If  our  country  is  grand  and  embraces  the  continent,  re- 
member that  Southern  Statesmanship  added  to  the  thirteen 
States  the  empire  of  the  Mississippi,  and  that  Southern 
Statesmanship  and  Southern  courage  wrested  from  the 
children  of  the  Montezumas  the  golden  gates  to  the  Pacific. 
If  your  country  is  glorious  and  respected  and  great,  you  can 
remember  that  your  people  have  borne  the  most  illustrious 
part  in  every  act  that  has  made  it  so. 


(12) 

If  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  there  exists  moral  de- 
formity, or  outrage,  or  unseemly  appearance  of  social  or 
political  evil,  you  can  say  that  no  portion  of  it  can  be  traced 
to  our  door.  It  is  true,  we  have  been  charged  with  the 
error  and  evil  of  Slavery,  but  history  and  the  verdict  of  all 
men  must  be  that  slavery  was  introduced  here  against  our 
will,  first  by  the  Dutch  and  afterwards  by  the  Slave  Mer- 
chants of  the  North.  Upon  the  garments  of  the  South  there 
is  no  stain  of  the  "Slave  Trade."  The  infamies  and  the 
profits  of  that  traffic  alike,  belong  to  others.  Our  lot  has 
been  to  civilize,  to  humanitize,  to  christianize  the  victims  of 
the  avarice  of  others.  Like  men  we  fought  for  the  institu- 
tion, not,  however,  for  its  sake,  but  because  through  it  all 
our  sacred  rights  were  assailed.  The  men  who  proclaimed 
liberty  at  Mecklenburg ;  the  men  who  fought  seven  years 
for  it  afterwards;  the  men  who  built  the  country's  strongest 
entrenchments  in  the  Constitution ;  who  extended  most 
widely  its  area ;  who  illustrated  it  with  most  honor  in  the 
National  Councils,  and  who  exposed  and  lost  all  to  defend 
every  approach  of  danger  to  it,  never — never  could  be  truly 
charged  with  the  responsibilit}^  for  human  Slavery.  One 
thing  all  men  must  say  of  us,  that  the  Southern  people  iu 
two  hundred  years  did  more  to  elevate  and  render  good  and 
happy  the  African  than  all  the  world  in  all  time  before  ever 
did.  And  upon  that  record  we  stand.  That  they  are  to-day 
all  over  this  land  a  peaceful,  happy,  and  improving  people, 
is  due  to  the  humanity,  the  wisdom,  the  justice  of  the 
Southern  people,  in  having  so  advanced  and  improved  them 
that  from  rudest  barbarians  they  are  now  esteemed  to  be 
worthy  citizens  of  this  great  Republic. 

With  such  ancestors  and  with  such  a  history  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  that  at  the  end  of  the  greatest  civil  struggle 
ever  recorded,  we  behold  their  descendants  unchanged  in 
all  the  elements  of  their  character.  War — defeat — adver- 
sity— oppression — have  not  diminished  their  virtues.  Con- 
sidering, therefore,  the  condition  of  the  country— the  South — 


(13) 

the  question  naturally  presents  itself:  What  is  the  duty  of 
our  people?  and  on  this  occasion  and  place:  What  is  the 
duty  of  the  young  men  of  the  South  ? 

That  duty  is  great  because  it  has  to  prove  worthy  of  a 
sublime  history  in  the  past— if  it  falls  below  that  history, 
infamy  ought  to  be  our  fate. 

We  cannot  meet  that  high  duty  by  vain  and  cowardly 
complaints.  Complaints  are  never  the  weapons  of  the 
brave— they  are  the  contemptible  refuge  of  the  weak. 
They  would  degrade  us,  dishonor  our  Fathers,  shame  our 
Mothers  and  degenerate  our  Posterity.  I  will  dismiss  them 
from  the  very  thoughts  of  Southern  youths.  If  we  have 
committed  errors,  or  if  we  have  suffered  enough,  let  us 
manifest  a  fortitude  that  shall  vanquish  calamity  and  con- 
vert reproach  into  eulogy. 

Nor  can  we  do  our  duty  by  indulging  hatred  to  other 
sections  of  the  country  and  perpetuating  the  animosities  of 
war.  The  glory  of  a  people  cannot  be  built  upon  hatreds. 
God  will  not  let  discord  be  the  fountain  of  happiness  or 
honor.  Our  honor,  our  happiness,  our  fame,  must  rest  upon 
surer  foundations — upon  the  rock  of  eternal  justice  and 
right.  Hatred  of  the  North  will  not  build  up  the  South  or 
lessen  the  burden  which  we  must  bear.  Denunciation  of 
the  North  will  not  restore  our  prosperity  or  heal  the  wounds 
of  war.  It  will  confer  no  blessing.  My  young  Coun- 
trymen, we  are  too  great,  too  good  a  people,  to  be  degraded 
by  the  bad  passions  of  the  human  heart.  The  image  I 
have  in  my  mind  of  the  South  is  too  high  and  too  pure  to 
think  it  can  be  sullied  by  frowns  of  ignoble  hatred.  In  the 
dark  ages  of  the  World,  the  wrath  of  Achilles  or  the  oath- 
bound  hostility  of  Hannibal  to  Rome,  might  be  the  themes 
of  Song  and  History,  but  such  passions  will  no  more  blacken 
the  pages  of  Poetry  and  Eloquence.  In  their  place  is  the 
higher  christian  virtue,  of  which  Plato  never  dreamed,  to 
conquer  all  things  by  doing  right. 

The  enmity  of  Hannibal  to  Rome  made  him  miserable, 


(14) 

and  entailed  untold  misfortunes  upon  his  country.  Let  us 
transmit  to  our  children  the  sublime  sentiments  that  live 
above  the  bloody  passions.  Let  us  remember  our  misfor- 
tunes only  to  conquer  them.  Let  us  remember  the  faults 
of  others  only  to  prove  that  we  are  superior  to  them.  Let 
us  manifest  to  all  the  world  that  nothing  can  overcome  our 
supreme  sense  of  right,  of  justice,  of  duty  in  all  things  and 
at  all  times.  Our  past  is  so  full  of  great  deeds — of  great 
results — of  great  virtues,  that  we  can  well  be  magnanimous. 
Our  very  sorrows  are  glorious.  Our  defeats  are  more  hon- 
orable than  the  victories  of  others.  Let  us  crown  our 
achievements  with  a  brave,  most  illustrious,  conquest  over 
the  passions  and  weaknesses  that  have  dishonored  less  noble 
people. 

I  have  thus  far,  mj'^  Young  Friends,  suggested  your  duty 
negatively.  Let  me  now,  as  your  partiality  has  placed  me 
in  this  position,  submit  a  few  thoughts  upon  your  positive, 
active  duty  to  your  country  and  to  yourselves. 

We  live  in  a  mighty  country  and  in  a  wonderful  period, 
the  period  of  the  greatest  development  since  the  world 
began.  We  are  thirteen  millions  of  people,  occupying  soven 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  in  the 
most  favored  portions  of  the  earth.  We  produce  the  greatest 
staple  used  by  the  human  family,  and  have  a  monopoly 
of  its  production.  The  great  Ocean  of  Commerce,  with  its 
belt  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  encircles  our  shores.  Every  fruit, 
every  live  timber,  every  plant  that  grows  on  the  Globe, 
flourishes  in  our  region.  In  all  the  elements  of  natural, 
material  and  physical  strength  we  are  unequaled  by  any 
other  portion  of  the  Universe.  With  this  munificent  coun- 
try under  our  control,  the  duty  comes  directly  up  before  us 
to  develop  it.  That  development  can  only  be  secured  by 
work — and  if  I  was  called  on  to  declare,  in  one  word,  our 
duty,  I  would  without  hesitation  utter  the  word,  the  great- 
est of  all  words,  work.  And  by  that  expression  I  mean 
work  of  every  character,  professional,  mechanical,  agricul- 


(15) 

tural,  scientific,  artistic,  in  their  broadest  sense.  It  is  the 
great  first  law  of  Nature,  the  necessity  for  human  happiness, 
the  staff  of  human  virtue.  I  hope  the  day  is  not  distant 
when  the  man  who  works  the  most  will  be  known  and  ap- 
preciated as  the  most  honorable  among  us  all,  for  such  he 
deserves  to  be.  I  desire  to  see  him  rank  above  the  richest, 
above  the  oldest,  above  all.  Let  work  be  the  watchword  of 
the  South ;  write  it  on  every  banner;  inscribe  it  on  every 
standard.  Mental  and  physical  work — labor — the  labor 
that  conquers  all  things — is  the  first  paramount  duty  of  all 
of  us.  It  is  the  magic,  charmed  link  that  will  restore  and 
redeem  us;  that  will  enrich  and  adorn  us;  that  will  purify 
and  dignify  us.  'It  is  the  great  mystery  that  made  Newton 
and  Franklin,  Morse  and  Washington,  Ctesar  and  Napoleon 
immortal.  It  is  the  one  great  want  of  our  people.  Bounti- 
ful Nature  has  almost  dispensed  with  the  necessity  for  labor 
here.  Moral  causes  must  be  the  motives  and  incentives 
with  us  for  work.  The  time  has  come  when  labor  must  be 
the  title  deed  to  position.  Injustice  has  too  long  been  done 
to  it.  It  is  the  foundation  of  every  value  that  man  pos- 
sesses. 

That  Work  is  the  first  great  law  of  all  achievements  is 
this  day  happily  again  verified  before  us.  I  trust  the  pro- 
prieties of  this  occasion  will  not  be  offended,  when  for  one  mo- 
ment I  allude  to  the  distinguished  son  of  North  Carolina,  and 
now  the  eminent*  citizen  of  another  great  State,  who  honors 
us  to-day  by  his  presence,  and  gives  all  of  us  extraordinary 
pleasure  by  his  interest  in  the  University.  Alike  eminent 
for  great  virtues — great  abilities — and  greater  usefulness — 
he  is  a  living  example,  standing  before  our  eyes  this  moment, 
to  illustrate  this  paramount  principle  of  human  action.  Ask 
him  and  he  will  tell  you  that  the  mystery  of  his  success — • 
the  inspiration  of  his  genius — the  charm  of  his  fame — the 
foundation  of  his  wealth — the  support  of  his  adversity — 

♦Judge  James  G-raut,  of  Iowa,  who  delivers  the  address  before  the  Alumni  As- 
sociation, 


(16) 

the  safe-guard  of  his  honesty— the  enchantment  and  happi- 
ness of  his  life — have  been  Work.  It  is  not  the  magician's 
wand  of  genius  and  fortune,  but  it  is  the  sacred  law  of 
Work  that  has  made  men  illustrious — States  grand — hu- 
manity glorious. 

Intellectual  labor  has  always  been  esteemed,  and  has 
carved  the  footways  to  fame.  But  manual,  mechanical, 
labor  has  never  had  its  fitting  compensation.  For  nearly 
four  hundred  years  the  World  has  resounded  the  praises  of 
Columbus  as  one  of  the  greatest  lights  in  the  tide  of  time, 
but  the  skilled  mechanics  who  fashioned  the  Pinto  and  the 
Neptune,  and  the  hardy  sailors  who  sped  the  vessls  in 
safety  from  Genoa  to  San  Salvador,  are  fiever  thought  of, 
if  they  were  ever  known.  While  the  name  of  Newton  will 
fill  the  corridors  of  time  forever,  as  we  traverse  the  great 
Ocean  in  most  perfect  comfort  and  safety,  and  tread  the 
decks  of  the  magnificent  steamers  and  enjoy  the  luxuries  of 
their  vast  saloons,  we  forget  the  skill  and  labor  of  the  me- 
chanic who  has  utilized  the  discovery  of  Newton,  and  from 
rude  models  has  fashioned  and  constructed  these  floating 
palaces.  The  patient  suff'erer  is  grateful  to  the  surgeon 
whose  scientific  skill  relieves  him  from  pain  and  saves  him 
from  death,  but  has  not  one  thought  for  the  artisan  whose 
deft  hands  placed  it  within  the  power  of  his  benefactor  to 
perform  the  operation.  We  behold  the  maiden  in  her 
beauty,  and  the  soul  is  vanquished  with  her  loveliness,  and 
amidst  our  enchantment  we  forget,  as  she  does,  the  indus- 
trious weavers  and  spinners,  whose  tasteful  mechanism  has 
contributed  the  drapery  and  laces  which  adorn  that. sweet- 
est figure.  The  Agriculturist,  the  Manufacturer,  the  Lawyer, 
the  Physician,  all  command  much  of  human  attention,  but 
the  Mechanic  who  builds  the  plow ;  who  tempers  the  sword ; 
who  gives  form  and  shape  and  usefulness  to  the  crude 
thoughts  of  others,  is  scarcely  thought  of  in  human  con- 
sideration. 

I  would  enjoin  it  upon  the  youth  of  the  South  to  reform 


(17) 

this  wrong.  Justice  demands  it- -policy  enforces  it — every 
consideration  commands  it.  In  this  country  all  men  are 
sovereigns,  all  men  are  by  law  equal.  The  Workers,  the 
Mechanics,  the  Laborers,  should  be  elevated  to  the  highest 
plane  of  citizenship.  The  wisest  rulers  of  France,  England 
and  Russia  have  encouraged  the  immigration  to  their  king- 
doms of  skilled  workmen.  Much  of  their  supremacy  is 
due  to  this  fact.  Let  the  South  imitate  their  wise  example, 
by  fostering  mechanical  skill  and  labor  in  all  its  forms,  by 
dignifying,  by  honoring,  by  rewarding,  by  cherishing  labor. 
The  great  remedy  for  disorders  between  social  classes  is  to 
raise  all,  to  bring  all  up,  to  degrade  none.  When  the  Laws 
and  Society  do  this  there  will  be  no  cause  for,  and  there  will 
be  no  disorder  between  our  fellow-men. 

For  many  years  to  come  the  South  must  be  an  agricul- 
tural country.  The  narrow  resources  of  our  people  will  not 
at  present  permit  other  investments.  I  hope  the  day  is  not 
far  off  when  every  other  field  of  labor  and  wealth  may  be 
utilized.  But  at  present  it  is  not  a  matter  of  regret  that  we 
must  be  agriculturists.  Agriculture  is  the  foundation  of 
all  prosperity.  No  people  can  be  or  have  ever  been  perma- 
nently prosperous  and  powerful  who  were  not  an  agricul- 
tural people.  The  power  of  Carthage  quickly  declined. 
The  glory  of  Venice  was  short  lived.  Genoa  and  Pisa, 
with  their  magnificent  palaces  and  princely  estates,  and 
commerce  extending  to  the  uttermost  limits  of  the  World, 
and  Amsterdam  with  its  sturdy  artisans,  and  enterprising 
and  far  seeing  and  far  reaching  merchants,  have  seen  their 
sceptre  pass  away.  England  owes  her  great  ascendancy  by 
sea  and  on  land  to  her  agricultural  interests.  It  is  her 
agriculture  that  supports  her  brave  soldiers,  that  builds  her 
great  navies.  It  is  her  agriculture  that  makes  her  horses, 
her  cattle,  the  best  in  the  world.  It  is  her  agriculture  that 
has  made  her  people  virtuous.  Agriculture  is  the  school  of 
the  virtues.  From  this  source  has  come,  and  always  will  be 
drawn,  the  great  and  good  men  of  every  country.     And  that 


(18) 

portion  of  our  great  country  will  be  greatest  and  best  in 
which  agriculture  is  most  fostered  and  cultivated. 

Then  let  the  South  devote  to  this  field  much  of  her  ge- 
nius, her  energy,  lier  affection.  Let  us  make  this  fair  land 
a  garden.  Let  us  learn  independence  by  making  every 
thing  we  consume.  Let  us  cultivate  our  patriotism  by  im- 
proving our  lands.  Let  us  grapple  our  hearts  to  this  beau- 
tiful South  by  developing,  by  adorning,  by  utilizing  it  with 
our  labor.  Let  each  one  of  us  feel  that  he  puts  a  laurel  in 
the  wreath  of  his  country  whenever  he  adds  a  flower,  a 
fruit,  a  grass,  or  a  grain  to  the  production  of  it. 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  encourage  you  first  to  respect 
and  then  to  cultivate  and  practice  Agriculture  and  the  Me- 
chanical Arts.  With  them  and  perhaps  before  them  is  the 
great  duty  of  Education.  With  freemen  it  is  the  first  of  all 
duties,  for  without  intelligence  free  government  is  a  failure. 
Knowledge  is  power — the  highest  power  on  Earth.  If  we 
desire  that  power  our  people  must  be  educated.  Every  re- 
source of  our  country  must  be  invoked  to  this  great  work. 
In  proportion  as  we  are  educated  will  be  the  respect  we  hold 
among  men.  In  proportion  as  we  are  poor  must  be  our 
effort  to  enrich  the  minds  of  our  people.  Let  us  suppose  for 
one  moment  all  the  people  of  the  South  well  educated — no 
ignorance  in  our  midst — all  intelligence.  What  an  advan- 
tage we  could  have  over  all  other  people.  It  is  this  that 
gives  the  civilized  man  the  advantage  over  the  savage.  It 
was  this  that  enabled  the  Germans  to  defeat  the  French  in 
the  late  war.  It  is  this  that  makes  England  to-day  dictate 
to  Russia.  It  is  this  that  gives  every  Nation  its  position, 
every  individual  his  rank.  Educated  young  men  yourselves^ 
see  to  it  that  this  blessing  is  extended  to  your  countrymen. 
I  appeal  to  you  for  your  own  South  to  take  care  of  the  ed- 
ucation of  her  people.  Each  educated  man  adds  more  than 
can  be  reckoned  to  the  wealth  and  power  of  a  State.  If  a 
simple  machine  of  wood  and  iron,  costing  only  a  few  dollars, 
the  invention  of  a  single  mind,  is  made  to  do  the  work  of  a 


(19) 

hundred,  what  influence  on  Society  must  the  enlightenment 
of  all  its  members  have  The  mind  cannot  estimate  it.  We 
stand  almost  appalled  at  the  immense  effect  of  such  a  fact. 
This  result  is  practicable ;  and  if  we  would  be  the  best  por- 
tion of  this  Republic  we  must  accomplish  it. 

Let  me  illustrate  my  meaning.  In  some  communities 
there  are  many  youths  of  wealth  and  high  social  position- 
These  advantages  give  them  pre-eminence  among  their  fel. 
lows.  The  only  wa}'  for  a  poor,  worthy  young  man  to  out- 
strip these  cotemporaries  is  to  study  more  faithfully,  with 
greater  energy,  and  the  moment  he  becomes  their  superior 
in  knowledge,  he  is  their  superior  in  all  that  is  valuable.  So 
with  the  South.  If  she  would  take  her  right  place  in  the 
Union  she  must  see  to  it  that  her  people  are  the  best  edu- 
cated in  the  land.  Nothing  will  excuse  the  neglect  of  this 
duty. 

And  in  this  connection  a  grand  duty  presents  itself  to  our 
consideration.  The  events  of  the  last  few  years  having  re- 
sulted in  the  emancipation  of  our  slaves  and  their  enfran- 
chisement as  American  citizens,  the  question  of  what  is  to 
be  done  with  them  confronts  us  face  to  face.  If  we  would, 
we  could  not  avoid  it,  and  I  am  not  departing  from  the 
truth  of  history  when  I  state  the  fact  that  the  Southern  peo- 
ple are  not  disposed  to  evade  an^'  issue  that  arises  in  their 
path.  This  subject  of  the  education  of  this  race  of  our  peo- 
ple must  engage  our  most  serious  attention.  I  have  thought 
of  it  most  anxiously,  and  my  judgment,  not  less  than  my 
heart,  is  in  favor  of  their  enlightenment.  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered that  they  constitute  one-third  of  our  population — that 
the  laws  of  nature  in  all  probabilit}'^  for  ages  to  come  will 
keep  them  in  the  Southern  belt  of  our  country — that  they 
have  all  thie  political  and  legal  rights  of  American  citizens — 
that  representation  not  only  in  the  National  Government, 
but  in  the  State  Legislature,  is  based  upon  their  numbers — 
and  let  the  immutable  truth  stand  out  before  us  that  all  men, 
under  all  circumstances,  as  classes,  are  better  and  happier 
2 


(20) 

and  more  useful  in  proportion  as  they  are  enlightened.  We 
are  thus  supported  by  every  argument  of  reason  and  expe- 
diency, and  by  every  sentiment  of  duty  and  humanity,  in 
our  resolution  to  extend  to  this  race  of  human  beings  the 
largest  opportunities  for  mental  and  moral  improvement. 
When  we  have  done  this  we  have  discharged  our  duty.  As 
I  have  previously  said,  Southern  civilization  in  a  period  of 
two  hundred  years  has  accomplished  more  for  this  people 
than  they  themselves  and  all  the  world  for  them  had 
achieved  in  six  thousand  years.  Let  us  hope  that  we  are 
still  further  to  improve  their  destiny,  and  that  among  the 
glories  of  our  people,  subordinate  to  the  Declaration  of  Amer- 
ican Independence — the  establishment  of  free  States — the 
conquest  of  a  Continent — the  permanent  administration  of 
governments  of  Liberty  and  Laws,  will  be  the  education — 
the  enlightenment — the  elevation  of  a  race  towards  whom, 
before  man  and  before  God,  we  can  testify  that  we  have 
never  harbored  an  unjust  or  unkind  emotion. 

For  this  supreme  beneficence  to  this   people,  I  will  urge 
no  other  plea.     It  is  prudent,  it  is   wise,  more  than  all,  and 
above  all,  it  is  just.     Justice,  the  foundation  of  all  nature — 
the  principle  that  holds  the  worlds  together — that  balances 
the  stars— that  harmonizes  the  seasons — that  makes  Society 
a  paradise— that   adjusts   the   delightful   relations   of    the 
sexes — which   is  the  greatness,  the  goodness   of  Almighty 
perfection — demands  by  a  rule  as  old,  as  good,  as  divine,  as 
the  first  moment  of  sensible  Time,  that  the  Light  of  Knowl- 
edge should  be  for  the  colored  race.     And  it  will  be  the 
honor  and  the  happiness  of  the  just  and  generous  people  of 
the  South,  under  the  goodness  of  God,  to  grant  to  those  who 
were  once  their  slaves,  the  unsurpassable  blessings  of  Men- 
tal and  Moral  Liberty.     It  is  true  that  this  proposition, 
this  hope  is  almost  eclipsed   by  the  gloomy  fact    that   for 
sixty  centuries  this  race  has  proved  itself  insensible  to  the 
influences  of  civilization,  but  this  foreboding  should  temper 
only,  not  repress,  the  impulses  of  duty  and  humanity  and 
patriotism  to  advance  and  improve  them. 


(21) 

In  the  long  records  of  history,  I  can  recall  at  this  instant 
no  great  system  of  beneficence,  no  general  impulse  of 
humanity  for  what  is  good — aye,  no  single  instance  of 
virtue,  that  has  not  brought  forth  the  fruits  of  happiness 
and  benefit  to  the  human  family.  And  in  this  spirit  I  feel, 
I  think,  that  we  of  the  South,  must  come  up  and  meet  this 
necessary,  but  difficult  duty.  At  least.  Young  Gentlemen, 
the  subject  is  worthy  of  your  thought,  and  appeals  to  you 
with  every  power  of  interest  and  sensibility. 

Having  thus  encouraged  all  our  3ystems  of  labor,  and 
having  taken  the  proper  means  to  secure  the  intelligence  of 
our  people,  there  are  still  other  considerations  that  claim 
our  attention,  all  of  which  may  be  expressed  in  the  term, 
CHARACTER.  For  Wealth  and  power  by  themselves  are  not 
sufficient  for  the  true  development  of  a  people.  There 
must  be  moral  character.  It  is  that  character  which 
has,  and  I  hope  is  still  destined  to  distinguish  the  South. 
Its  value  cannot  be  exaggerated.  The  honor  of  a  people  is 
their  greatest  security.  Of  all  their  possessions,  it  alone  is 
imperishable.  It  was  the  life  of  the  Greek  States — the  soul 
of  the  Roman  Republic — the  spirit  of  English  liberty  and 
grandeur.  It  made  Rome  the  mistress  of  the  world.  "Punic 
Faith"  destroyed  Carthage  before  Hannibal  retreated  from 
the  Alps  or  Scipio  invaded  Africa.  Not  numbers,  nor 
treasures,  nor  palaces  made  Sparta  or  gave  her  an  immortal 
name,  but  it  was  Spartan  integrity  and  Spartan  courage 
that  gave  her  the  power  of  an  Empire.  The  Three  Hun- 
dred Greeks  all  perished  at  Thermopylae,  but  their  example 
gave  character  to  the  Spartans  that  made  her  invincible. 
What  is  it,  at  this  hour,  that  makes  the  English  consol  the 
most  desirable  investment  in  the  money  markets  of  the 
world  ?  It  is  the  English  character.  What  makes  Spain, 
and  Turkey  and  modern  Italy  merely  words  in  the  family 
of  Nations  ?     The  want  of  character. 

As  a  part,  then,  of  this  Union,  if  we  would  hold  the  place 
of  our  Fathers  in  it,  we  must  take  care  above  all  things,  of 
our  Character,  our  Honor.      The  fortunes  of    war   have 


(22) 

destroyed  our  material  wealth — laid  waste  our  homes- 
blighted  our  lands — but  our  greatest  treasure— Our  Honor 
— is  untouched,  aye,  brightened.  In  all  else  we  have  lost. 
In  that  we  are  the  victors.  The  Honor  which  our  Fathers 
left  us  is  still  ours,  brightened  from  the  furnace  through 
which  we  have  passed.  In  a  history  of  two  hundred  years, 
Southern  Honor  is  without  one  eclipse.  No  unholy  passion 
stains  the  annals  of  her  statutes,  the  book  of  her  life  records 
no  instance  of  Southern  dishonor.  Broken  faith,  violated 
promises,  cruel  conduct,  unworthy  cupidity,  base  jealousies, 
moral  and  social  depravity,  nowhere  mar  her  progress. 
She  stands  before  the  eyes  of  all  the  world  to-day  with  her 
garments  as  white  as  a  vestal's,  her  courage  untarnished, 
her  virtue  without  a  blot,  her  soul  without  a  shadow.  It  is 
for  you  to  take  care  of  that  Character,  to  brighten  that 
image,  to  strengthen  and  polish  that  majestic  and  beautiful 
column.  It  is  worthy  of  your  love,  your  devotion,  your 
idolatry.  Put  incense  on  its  altars.  Preserve  that  Charac- 
ter, illustrate  it,  magnify  it,  exalt  it,  and  the  South  is  safe. 
Though  in  rags,  princes  and  potentates  will  kneel  at  her 
feet.  She  will  be  the  queen  of  hearts  of  all  men,  and  will 
secure  the  destinies  of  the  Republic,  and  influence  the  opin- 
ions of  Nations.  What  an  opportunity  for  usefulness — what 
a  field  for  glory,  Young  Gentlemen,  this  duty  presents  you. 
Thinkof  it  hourly.  Properly  discharged,  it  will  vindicate 
your  great  countrymen,  who  died  for  it.  It  will  shed  undying 
lustre  on  you.  It  will  pour  radiant  light  on  your  children. 
And  in  the  pursuit  of  this  hallowed  duty,  let  me  say  that 
I  am  impressed  most  of  all  with  one  idea,  and  that  is  care 
for  the  Women  of  the  South.  I  know  it  was  once  a  form  in 
public  speakers  to  expend  compliments  upon  the  lovely  sex. 
This  is  not  my  pupose.  These  times  are  too  serious  for  the 
arts  of  flattery.  It  is  a  solemn  duty  to  which  I  invite  you, 
I  believe — I  know  that  of  all  the  ways  and  means  of  bene- 
fitting, improving  and  raising  the  South,  the  best  and  surest 
is  justice  to  her  Women.  They  are  the  tender  but  sacred 
vessels  in  which  are  carried  the  virtues  and  hopes  of  the 


(23) 

human  family.  That  was  no  absurd  fiction  of  the  noble 
Romans  who  instituted  the  Vestal  Virgins  to  keep  burning 
forever  the  fires  of  Roman  Liberty.  That  Liberty  never 
expired  until  that  noblest  sisterhood  was  dragged  down  and 
corrupted.  Roman  Liberty  was  triumphant  and  Roman 
Government  pure  until  Marius,  and  Scylla,  and  Pompey, 
and  Cfesar  bartered  their  wives  and  sisters  and  daughters 
for  offices  and  gold.  So,  too,  the  fires  of  our  Liberty  will 
never  go  out  if  they  are  kept  alive  by  the  virtues  of  pure 
women.  And  what  a  Society — what  a  Government — what 
an  Honor  will  that  be  which  is  fostered  and  guarded  and 
hallowed  by  the  virtues  and  sanctities  of  the  matchless 
daughters  of  the  South  ! 

All  nations,  and  ages,  and  races  have  invariably  repre- 
sented the  virtues  by  the  image  of  a  Woman.  The  God  of 
War  was  Mars,  a  rude  man.  The  God  of  Eloquence,  Apol- 
lo, the  type  of  manhood.  The  God  of  the  Wine  Cup,  Bac- 
chus. But  the  Virtues  are  all  women.  Beauty,  and 
Plenty,  and  Wisdom,  and  Majesty,  were  all  women.  The 
fairest  form  in  which  Liberty  can  be  represented  is  a  virgin, 
as  spotless  as  the  light.  The  best  tj^pe  of  Justice  is  a  maiden, 
blind,  but  with  the  scales  as  evenly  held  as  if  the  eye  of  God 
was  on  them.  All  this  is  wise.  These  beautiful  images  are 
the  truth.  Let  human  societj-  realize  these  faultless  sym- 
bols, and  human  happiness  would  be  most  secure. 

In  the  South,  female  character  has  always  been  peculiarly 
and  especially  cherished.  More  deference  and  homage  is 
paid  to  woman  here  than  in  all  the  world  beside.  This 
sentiment  has  been  the  mother  of  our  Honor.  Let  us  con- 
tinue to  cherish  and  maintain  it.  Let  us  do  everything 
to  improve  and  exalt  it,  and  it  will  be  the  ornament,  the 
ark,  the  pillar  of  our  safety,  at  once  our  Honor  and  our  Joy. 
As  a  people  respect  their  Women,  will  be  their  position  in 
the  scale  of  nations.  The  great  spring  of  human  life  must 
be  kept  pure  and  holy,  or  the  mighty  stream  that  flows  from 
it  will  be  corrupt  and  poisonous.  Let  us  endeavor,  as  the 
first  and  surest  means  of  elevating,  purifying,  ennobling  our 


(24) 

people,  to  place  the  mothers  and  wives  of  our  men  so  high 
in  our  opinion  and  affections,  so  high  in  the  esteem  of  man- 
kind, that  impurity  can  never  approach  them.  This  will 
be  better  than  temples  to  Jupiter  or  Janus  ;  better  than  gold 
or  precious  stones.  Though  they  may  be  poor,  their  virtues 
will  be  their  jewels  ;  though  they  may  be  weak,  their  influ- 
ence will  be  more  powerful  than  an  "army  with  banners.'' 
They  will  be  the  perpetual  hostages  of  peace  and  justice.  I 
utter  not  mere  formal  compliments,  ray  young  friends,  but 
great  truths,  which  once  realized  will  make  the  South  the 
noblest  land  the  sun  shines  on.  If  I  could,  in  the  humility 
of  an  unchastened  soul,  implore  of  a  Benignant  Father  the 
greatest  blessing  for  my  afflicted  and  beloved  land,  it  would 
be  to  vouchsafe  to  the  noble  Women  of  the  country  the 
highest  and  largest  influence  that  can  be  exercised  in  society. 
Young  Gentlemen  :  In  your  hands  is  now  placed,  as  rep- 
resentative young  men  of  the  South,  the  duty  of  preserving 
and  perpetuating  her  fame,  her  institutions,  her  people.  It 
is  all  with  you.  First,  foremost,  and  ever  guard,  as  you 
would  your  hearts,  her  Honor — her  very  Honor.  Let  no 
breath  sully  its  brightest  lustre.  Let  it  be  your  love  to  ad- 
vance and  add  to  its  glor}^,  and  not  rest  until  its  splendor 
is  radiant  over  tlie  Earth.  Make  it  like  the  shield  of 
Achilles,  seven-fold  strong — seventy-fold  brilliant — a  full  cir- 
cle of  virtue.  And  to  this  holiest,  best,  noblest  of  all  patri- 
otic duties,  I  invoke  all  ages,  and  sexes,  and  conditions  of 
our  people.  I  call  upon  the  aged  and  the  young,  the  male 
and  the  female,  the  learned  professions,  the  scholars,  the 
artisans,  the  laborers — aye,  I  call  upon  the  sacred  ministers 
of  Religion  at  the  altars  ;  I  call  upon  all  men  in  their  daily 
walks  of  life,  everywhere  in  this  our  South,  to  have  ever  in 
mind  our  Character,  our  Honor,  our  fair  Fame;  to  labor 
and  toil  for  it ;  to  care  for  and  promote  it ;  to  watch  it  with 
sacred  vigils,  and  to  hand  it  down  with  tender  devotion  to 
their  children.  And  I  pray  the  Great  Father  of  all  of  us 
in  his  wisdom  and  goodness,  to  give  it  to  us  to  so  live  that, 
not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  that  Honor  shall  be  lost  in  our  hands. 


(25) 

That  Honor — the  jewel— the  life— the  soul  of  the  South- 
must  be  loved  aud  defended — it  must  be  cherished  and  cul- 
tivated by  true  men  and  true  women,  as  the  children  of 
Israel  guarded  and  watched  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant.     The 
greatest  English  historian  tells  us  that  Isaac,  the  petty  King 
of  Cyprus,  when    chained,    imprisoned  and    degraded    by 
the  Lion-Chief  of  the  Crusades,  complained  that  his  fetters 
were  of  base  material.     The  grand  Warrior,  in   his  irony 
for  such  ignoble  mockery,  at  once  directed  that  the  iron 
bands  should  be  removed,  and  that  shackles  of  silver  should 
be   bound  upon   his   limbs.     The   despicable   little  tyrant 
rejoiced  in  the  sarcastic  infamy  of  the  change.     Lamartine, 
the  beautiful  artist  of  French  Tragedy,  writes  that  when 
the    Duke   D'Enghien,  the   delicate   representative  of  the 
declining  Monarchy  of  France,  was  arrested  by  order  of  the 
First  Napoleon  and  confined  in  the  tower  of  Yincennes — 
this   figure  of  royal  pageantry  bore  his  imprisonment,  his 
peril,  his  insults,  with  composure,  until  he  discovered  that 
his  supper  was  served  to  him  in  plates  of  pewter,  and  the 
appetite  of  Majesty  was  only  revived  when  an  old  service 
of  silver  was,  by  the  hand  of  charity,  placed  upon  his  table. 
To  the  great  heart  of  the  South  how  contemptible — how 
despicable — how  inexpressibly  infamous — would  have  been, 
in  our  adversities,  such  forms  of  consolation — such  carica- 
tures of  right.     No !     We  realized  that  defeat — calamity — 
sorrow — were  the  ordeals  of  virtue,  and  that  the  fires  that 
burned   our  homes  and  hearts,  should   only  temper  and 
brighten  our  patriotism  and  honor.     As  the  long  and  in- 
tense fires  under  the  Earth  are   said,  in  their   extremest 
flames,  to  bring  forth  the  dazzling  diamonds,  so  it  has  hap- 
jjened  and  will  happen,  that  in  the  white  heat  and  agony  of 
the  burning  coals  through  which  we  have  passed,  not  only 
have  our  chains — our  badges  of  wrong  and  humiliation — 
melted  from  our  forms,  but  all  over  the  ashes  and  through 
the  black  beds  of  our  misfortunes  and  sufferings,  are  seen 
in  imperishable   brightness,  the  gems,  the   diamonds,  the 
precious  jewels,  of  our  virtue.    They  are  indeed  imperisha- 


(26) 


ble.  I  would  not  give  our  virtues,  shining  in  the  darkness 
of  our  sorrows,  for  all  the  Crown  jewels  of  the  Kings  and 
Queens  of  all  the  World.  In  our  heart  of  hearts,  we  must 
and  will  cherish,  and  love,  and  preserve  them.  They  can- 
not and  shall  not  be  obliterated. 

The  Goths  and  Vandals  overrun  the  best  portions  of 
Southern  Europe.  They  burned  and  demolished — despoil- 
ed and  robbed  the  temples  of  Athens,  and  strove  to  extin- 
guish the  fairest  forms  of  human  art.  But  in  after  ages,  the 
descendants  of  those  same  barbarians,  enlightened  by  the 
civilization  of  the  conquered,  returned  to  these  ruins,  and 
there  gathered  up  the  fragments  of  the  Doric,  the  Ionic,  the 
Corinthian  Architecture.  And  so  in  all  coming  time  will 
it  happen  that  the  examples  of  our  virtues  will  live,  and 
that  the  lovers  of  the  brave — the  just — the  true — and  the 
beautiful — the  devotees  of  Liberty — the  votaries  of  Constitu- 
tional Government — the  pilgrims  to  shrines  of  Social  and 
Personal  Purity,  will  come  to  our  altars,  to  find  the  noblest 
and  loveliest  of  what  is  best  in  the  history  of  human  Gov- 
ernment and  Society.  To  this  destinj' — to  this  duty — I 
pray  our  Great  Father  to  make  us  equal  and  faithful. 

My  Young  Friends,  I  ask  you  to  look  into  your  hearts 
and  commence  there  the  exalted  w^ork  I  have  proposed  for 
you  and  the  youth  of  the  country.  Your  hearts  are  the 
altars  upon  which  must  burn  the  tires  of  our  country's  Lib- 
erty and  Honor.  These  altars  are  no  longer  made  of  stone 
and  brass.  They  are  composed  of  immortal  emotions  and 
thought.  As  the  best  means  of  preserving  our  country's 
honor,  watch  and  guard  your  own;  "it  is  the  immediate 
jewel  of  your  souls."  Let  the  life  of  each  of  you  be  a  record 
for  your  country  and  humanity,  and  next  to  and  as  part  of 
your  duty  to  your  God,  preserve  your  own  characters — 
always  remembering  that  Honor  is  the  armor  of  the  true 
gentleman.  Keep  yours  as  bright  as  the  diamond,  and  the 
jewel  that  adorns  your  breast  will  be  th^  shield  that  de- 
fends it. 


'!♦■• 


